A variety of interconnect structures may be used to provide access to signals of a semiconductor die. Solder bumps are one type of interconnect structure. Solder bumps are disposed over contact pads that are located within an active area of the die. The number of solder bumps that may be placed on a semiconductor die is determined by the size of the active area and the achievable fineness of the bump pitch—i.e., the width of a solder bump and the spacing between adjacent solder bumps. As semiconductor die become more complex and the corresponding active area reduces in size, bump density must increase in order to provide access to the signals of the die.
Signals accessible via solder bumps are accessed by connectors such as probes. To access a plurality of solder bumps of a semiconductor die, the pitch of the probes must correspond to the bump pitch of the die. There are currently no probe solutions suitable for solder bumps with pitches of less than 100 μm. Using prior art methods to form probes of this pitch (i.e., width) would produce probes subject to buckling, overheating due to current density and structural fatigue. What is needed is a probe solution with the mechanical and electrical integrity capable of being used for increasing bump densities and narrowing bump pitches.
Descriptions of certain details and implementations follow, including a description of the figures, which may depict some or all of the embodiments described below, as well as a discussion of other potential embodiments or implementations of the inventive concepts presented herein. An overview of embodiments of the invention is provided below, followed by a more detailed description with reference to the drawings.